Merkel, Sarkozy want new EU fiscal treaty (by William L. Watts)

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they would press for a new treaty to strengthen euro-zone fiscal rules in an effort to restore confidence in the shared currency. In a joint news conference following a meeting in Paris, Sarkozy said leaders would use a summit meeting of the European Union's 27 leaders on Friday to see if the treaty could win quick approval across the EU or just within the euro area. The leaders want the treaty in place by March. Sarkozy and Merkel both rejected the idea of euro-zone government bonds as a solution to the crisis and said they would call for bringing forward the launch of the euro zone's permanent rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, by one year to 2012.